Scripture, Immigration, Memes

A Few Thoughts

Recently, I came across a meme that’s been making the rounds on social media—a seemingly simple image (see below), but one that’s caused a lot of buzz. It features a cartoon family of five, decked out like they’ve walked straight off the set of an animated version of “The Chosen” or were pulled from the pages of a Sunday School coloring book. The text on the meme quotes Lev 19:34: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

This image has gained traction in the wake of Donald Trump’s remarks about immigrants and immigration during a recent debate. And as tends to happen with hot-button issues, the internet wasted no time pouncing—sharing, liking, resharing—with opinions flying in every direction. It seems every week, perhaps every day or two even, that Christians find some new way to get upset, some new matter to get flustered about, some new issue to argue over. It’s exhausting.

These events often bring me back to a central question: Should I care about this? Then I have to drill down a bit and get specific to the issue, as in this case: Should I care about this meme? Is it just another internet distraction, or is there something deeper here that I ought to think about? On the surface, as I said above, this particular meme seems harmless enough, right? A verse about loving foreigners, with perhaps a veiled jab at Trump’s immigration stance for those in-the-know—an easy way for a centrist or another lefty to score some quick “virtue” points in the never-ending political skirmishes that fill our feeds. But, as is pretty much always the case with memes, there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface.

The verse seen in the image above comes, as noted, from Lev 19:34, and the Hebrew word translated as “foreigner” is ger (גר). Now, it’s important to understand that ger doesn’t map perfeclty and, perhaps, not even all that neatly, onto our modern ideas of immigration, legal or otherwise, though there may be “some” points of intersection. Some scholars have suggested that the ger could be a “traveling merchant,” but I think the more accurate understanding is found in the work of scholars like Eugene Boring, who not only rules such views out, but sees the ger as a “resident alien”—someone who’s been brought into the Israelite community and is expected to live under the same laws, customs, and covenantal practices as the Israelites themselves.¹ '

This wasn’t an open invitation to just anyone passing through. The ger was, in essence, someone who became part of the covenant people of God and was expected to live accordingly. They would, in short, adopt and adhere to the theology and ways of life of the Israelites. And, of course, that’s very different than any immigrant who traverses into virtually any nation today.

Further, this is an important distinction because the Israelites were commanded to treat the ger with dignity and respect, not because it was a feel-good gesture of universal niceness, but because they themselves had once been foreigners in Egypt. The logic is clear: they had suffered under the hand of a foreign power and, therefore, were to treat those within their midst—those who had integrated into their community and adopted their worldview—with dignity.

Thus, and this is so key that I keep restating it: the ger was expected to live by the same laws that governed the Israelites. This wasn’t a license for chaos or lawlessness. The ger was expected to adopt the customs of the covenant community, especially when it came to moral imperatives like worship, sexual ethics, and theft. And if they didn’t? Well, there were consequences, including the possibility of expulsion.

This raises some tough questions when we think about modern immigration debates, especially when verses like Lev 19:34 are used in memes to argue for open borders or relaxed immigration laws. The meme makes it seem as if Scripture advocates for a blanket endorsement of immigration in any form, but the reality is more nuanced. Scripture calls us to treat others with dignity because all people are made in the image of God (Gen 1), but it also recognizes the need for law, order, and accountability. Just as the ger was expected to abide by Israel’s laws, so too must today’s immigrants—whether legal or illegal—be held to account in whatever country they might find themselves in.

Markus Zehnder, a scholar whose work digs into these biblical distinctions, notes that the Bible actually differentiates between different types of foreigners.² There’s the ger, the resident alien who integrates into Israelite society, for instance, and the nokri, the foreigner who doesn’t. Zehnder argues that this distinction is critical when forming modern policies, as not all immigrants have the same intentions or needs—a point rarely made or reiterated in these discussions.

And this leads us to a crucial point: Scripture doesn’t necessarily celebrate (im)migration as an ideal state. In fact, it often views migration as a disruption. Let me say that one more time: Scripture doesn’t necessarily celebrate (im)migration as an ideal state. In fact, it often views migration as a disruption. The biblical ideal, Zehnder argues, is for people to settle and establish roots, not to be in a constant state of flux.

We also have to remember what I’ve already talked about in my 4-part series on the liberal twisting of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor.” That command, rooted in Israelite thought and Scripture, as I’ve argued HERE (Pt. 1), HERE (Pt. 2), HERE (Pt. 3), and HERE (Pt. 4), is directed toward those within the covenant community. While we are to show kindness to outsiders, Scripture doesn’t call for a universal, undifferentiated love that ignores justice or law.

Zehnder, in his work, points out that, while we are commanded to “love” (i.e. to want God’s best and nurture an environment where that can happen) the sojourner, that love is framed by covenantal responsibilities and commitments. Again, how often that is simply ignored and/or overlooked! The New Testament, which with a rather high frequency describes the church in familial terms, reinforces the idea of communal responsibility, not a wide-open welcome to all with no boundaries or expectations.

And that, oddly enough, brings me back to memes which seem to float around with no borders. Memes are designed to be simple, to make a quick point, but that simplicity is exactly what makes them problematic. They reduce complex issues, like immigration or biblical exegesis, into bite-sized slogans that don’t do justice to the depth of Scripture. They oversimplify. And in doing so, they often carry with them logical fallacies. And that’s on purpose! That’s how they are, by default, meant to work. That, in fact, is how jokes always work; they expose assumptions, sometimes hidden and sometimes not, then play on them.

It’s no different for memes plastered in Scripture, memes that cherry-pick verses out of context to make a point or virtue signal. Memes, at their core, invite us to hit the share button without thinking deeply about the implications or the message being sent. And, oddly enough, as I’ve seen time and time and time again, people will fight for their meme as if it’s a hill to die on—even if they spent zero time thinking about it beforehand or even after the fact. Frankly, it’s kind of insane how that happens.

But here’s a truth: We all know that selectively picking ancient sacred Scripture to bolster a modern political point is dangerous. It’s not just about misusing a verse; it’s about distorting the very meaning of God’s written word. If Christians truly care about the dignity of foreigners, as they should, they must also care about the dignity of those who don’t want to see Scripture weaponized for this purpose or that, to score virtue points for sharing this or that. And, friends, we should care about our own dignity, too. We should care enough to avoid, at least as much as we can, oversimplifying issues that require careful thought and biblical reflection.

In sum, we should care about things we say and do and post, as well as the things being said and done and posted by our fellow Christians. After all, as I said in my previous piece, “Jesus, Christians, & Politics,” the gospel is political through and through and, if we’re living it out, then our lives will be as well. When we take Scripture seriously, we realize that what we say, share, and do matters. And when we distort it, even through what may be a well-meaning meme, we risk misrepresenting the very text we claim to uphold.

1. Boring, M. Eugene. 1 Peter (ANTC; Nashville: Abingdon, 1991), 57.

2. Zehnder, Markus. The Bible and Immigration: A Critical and Empirical Assessment (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2021).